Managing Spasticity

Spasticity is a painful condition where certain groups of muscles continuously contract causing stiffness and sometimes severe pain. It can interfere with any number of everyday activities including walking, speech, and basic movements in general. Spasticity often occurs with other serious illnesses or injury such as:

Why spasticity occurs

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the degree of spasticity can vary from mild stiffness to severe and often painful and uncontrollable muscle spasms. HealthSouth’s team approach helps patients with this painful condition by providing the following interventions as needed:

Medication management

Pain management

Intrathecal Baclofen

Botox injection

Custom orthotics and splinting

Bed and chair positioning techniques

Therapy programs for range of motion, stretching, inhibition, and preventing shrinking of the muscles

Working on other methods of performing daily living tasks so the patient can maintain independence

HealthSouth also works with patients and their family to educate them on how they can best cope with the condition.